Strangers in the Night
Yesterday evening, for the sake of the blog, I went along to a jewellry party. It wasn't that I wanted to buy anything, of course, but I thought it a useful way to look at another slice of American life.
The party was held in a magnificent house on the outskirts of the town. The dining table was laden down with silver jewellry; the kitchen with the ubiquitious platters of food. Cakes, fruit, giant subs, wine, cocktails. I'm beginning to think homes are automatically set up like this, just in case anyone stops by.
The jewellery was produced by Silpada, a literally shining example of pyramid selling, still very popular in the USA.
"This stuff sells itself," said Karen, our representative for the evening."I just have to wear it and people will ask me where it's from."
Not surprising, if last night was anything to go by. A human manniquin, she was dripping from head to foot in the stuff.
She had thoughtfully scattered brochures everywhere, one called something like Empowering Women. This was the one for the reps., full of real life stories of women who had sold a couple of pairs of earrings and changed their lives, and photos of sales trips to Hawaii.
Karen seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to try this new career path. It's the first time I've been grateful to still be awaiting my work permit.
More interesting were the other women there. There was Debbie, originally from Holland so technically another foreigner, who told us about some kind of dragon she kept as a pet. I didn't catch exactly what it was, but she said it definitely wasn't an iguana. Don't think I'll be visiting her house any time soon!
Marie was a fascinating creature. Petite with red hair scraped into a sixties topnot, she was full of the most extraordinary snippets of information. Her brother, it seems, dressed in full native American regalia for his marriage. Simple reason - his bride was the daughter of a chief. Marie's mother's favourite hobby was hanging a mousse and then gutting it - and I don't mean the chocolate variety. Marie herself, preferred something more energetic - belly dancing. You just don't meet people like this is London, or at least I didn't.
Just as I was getting into the swing of things, I was disturbed by the sound of piano music. I had noticed a grand piano in another room, nothing unusual in Naperville, I have observed. However, when I went to investigate who was playing so beautifully, it turned out to be no one. It was run electronically and the keys moved alone as if played by a ghost. Apparently these are not uncommon here. You like the sound of live piano music, but cannot play, so you simply get a virtual pianist! The selection - Disney's greatest hits - seemed a somewhat bizarre choice, but I suppose you can hardly ask for a request with no one actually at the keys.
The party was held in a magnificent house on the outskirts of the town. The dining table was laden down with silver jewellry; the kitchen with the ubiquitious platters of food. Cakes, fruit, giant subs, wine, cocktails. I'm beginning to think homes are automatically set up like this, just in case anyone stops by.
The jewellery was produced by Silpada, a literally shining example of pyramid selling, still very popular in the USA.
"This stuff sells itself," said Karen, our representative for the evening."I just have to wear it and people will ask me where it's from."
Not surprising, if last night was anything to go by. A human manniquin, she was dripping from head to foot in the stuff.
She had thoughtfully scattered brochures everywhere, one called something like Empowering Women. This was the one for the reps., full of real life stories of women who had sold a couple of pairs of earrings and changed their lives, and photos of sales trips to Hawaii.
Karen seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to try this new career path. It's the first time I've been grateful to still be awaiting my work permit.
More interesting were the other women there. There was Debbie, originally from Holland so technically another foreigner, who told us about some kind of dragon she kept as a pet. I didn't catch exactly what it was, but she said it definitely wasn't an iguana. Don't think I'll be visiting her house any time soon!
Marie was a fascinating creature. Petite with red hair scraped into a sixties topnot, she was full of the most extraordinary snippets of information. Her brother, it seems, dressed in full native American regalia for his marriage. Simple reason - his bride was the daughter of a chief. Marie's mother's favourite hobby was hanging a mousse and then gutting it - and I don't mean the chocolate variety. Marie herself, preferred something more energetic - belly dancing. You just don't meet people like this is London, or at least I didn't.
Just as I was getting into the swing of things, I was disturbed by the sound of piano music. I had noticed a grand piano in another room, nothing unusual in Naperville, I have observed. However, when I went to investigate who was playing so beautifully, it turned out to be no one. It was run electronically and the keys moved alone as if played by a ghost. Apparently these are not uncommon here. You like the sound of live piano music, but cannot play, so you simply get a virtual pianist! The selection - Disney's greatest hits - seemed a somewhat bizarre choice, but I suppose you can hardly ask for a request with no one actually at the keys.
posted by Hilary at
9:15 AM
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